Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished ManuscriptReview Method: Peer ReviewedAbstract: This paper reconceptualizes traditional assumptions of the ideal worker by examining the communicative implications of the ideal teleworker. Work-life issues concerning the intersections of personal and professional life affect men and women worldwide. Many scholars attribute the clash between organizational demands and non-work obligations to perceptions of the ideal worker, a deep-seated cultural norm in which a presumably male employee is expected to make work his chief priority. Although traditional ideal-worker norms are still prevalent and problematized in modern organizations, the rise of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the evolution of work relationships (i.e., part-time work, virtual work, contract work, etc.) call for a re-examination of the ideal-worker norm. Thus, using three dialectics of connectivity, autonomy versus control, and flexibility versus rigidity, this paper frames the theoretical conversation by situating ideal teleworker norms through temporal and spatial perspectives.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished ManuscriptReview Method: Peer ReviewedAbstract: The ideal worker norm, which calls for perpetual availability and singular devotion to work, is deeply ingrained in contemporary workplaces. Yet, adherence to this norm is difficult for most workers. This paper presents the preliminary results of a study designed to investigate how workers manage this mismatch. Specifically, we examine the extent to which workers perform or “do” ideal work by overstating their compliance with the ideal worker norm, as well as the extent to which these performances are gendered. We present data from a controlled experimental study in which participants were asked to describe the extent to which they engaged in sixteen ideal work behaviors. Half were instructed to imagine their responses would be made public to their coworkers and supervisor; half were instructed to imagine their responses would be kept anonymous. If reports about ideal work behavior are more pronounced in public settings than in private settings, this suggests ideal work claims are self-presentational. While our findings reveal no overall effect of experimental condition, we do find important gender differences. Men who imagined their responses would be made public engaged in a number of ideal work behaviors more than men who assumed their responses would be kept private and relative to women who imagined their responses would be made public. Thus, it seems that, for men, expressed compliance with the ideal worker norm is, at least in part, a performance designed to convey a favorable social identity to others.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished ManuscriptReview Method: Peer ReviewedAbstract: Scholars studying colorism highlight the cultural preference of lighter skin tones over darker skin tones in a variety of outcomes. Although theories abound that indicate lighter skin tone is preferred within African American and Latino groups, studies have not assessed perceptions of the ideal skin tone in these groups. Further, a few theorists have questioned whether the “light ideal” is consistent for whites, positing that white individuals may believe tanned skin is ideal. Thus, there may be a convergence in the ideal skin tone across different racial-ethnic groups. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of college aged men and women with regard to ideal skin tone and how this ideal influences their well-being. The data for this study come from an on-going survey of college students at small private colleges in Texas. Students were asked to indicate their own skin tone and the ideal skin tone for a person of their same racial-ethnic background using a scale showing the student six blocks of colors ranging from pale pink (1) to dark brown (6). White students (n=60) reported a mean 1.68 (0.93 s.d.) for their own skin tone; African Americans (n=19) reported a mean 5.05 (1.31 s.d.); and Latinos (n=27) reported a mean 3.19 (1.21 s.d.). The average ideal skin broken down by racial-ethnic group shows the mean ideal skin tone for white students, 1.83 (0.85 s.d.); for African American students, 4.84 (1.26 s.d.); and for Latino students, 3.70 (1.17 s.d.). In examining the differences in reported skin tone and ideal skin tone, 58% of whites reported that their own skin tone was the same as what they considered ideal; interestingly, only 39% of African American and 37% Latino reported the same. Forty-four percent of African Americans reported that the ideal was lighter than their own skin tone. In contrast, 48% of Latino reported the ideal was darker than their own skin tone. Surprisingly, students who reported their skin tone as lighter than the ideal reported lower happiness than individuals who reported that their skin tone was the same or darker than the ideal.